It is a gray morning, here in London. We sit in the building with the golden balls, look out the window, and wonder…

…how does it all work?

Is the government creating another subprime-mortgage bubble?

The just-concluded Group 20 (G20) meeting left us with a chorus of very “prudent” governments and central bankers singing the praises of easy monetary and fiscal conditions. So where can we take refuge when all the central banks in the world print money and governments run deficits in order to spend like drunken sailors? The answer is gold.

Currencies rally in early morning Tuesday. But see profit taking later in the day… Looking for yield? China expected to get back to 10% growth! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Now the summer days are dwindling down to a precious few. This morning, it is overcast and chilly here in central France. The leaves on the aspen and linden trees have turned yellow already; whenever the wind blows, they flutter to the ground as if they were trying to get away from something.

Stocks push the currencies higher…Norway pulls out of recession…Jackson Hole boondoggle…Oil helps rally commodity currencies…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

The dollar will probably go up. Still, we’d stay away…

“If gold is ‘past its day’, what of toxic derivatives and today’s deluge of US Treasury bonds…?” Just like poor Pip Dickens’ Great Expectations, central banks keep inheriting unwelcome bequests.

Currencies adrift all day yesterday…  Data prints begin today with Productivity…  Stop to think!  Chinese data is impressive… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

For more than a decade, author and academic Dr. Jeremy Siegel had the Midas touch.  His book “Stocks For the Long Run,” first published in October 1996, surveyed more than 200 years of stock market history both in the United States and abroad and made a compelling case that common stocks are the very best long-term investment vehicle. Better than cash. Better than bonds. Better than real estate. Better than gold.